


Rinea's Redemption

by Farva5



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Because Rinea's Death Sucks, Canonical Character Death, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Spoilers, Fix-It, Gen, Rinea (Fire Emblem) Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27919945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farva5/pseuds/Farva5
Summary: What if Berkut had failed to kill Rinea? What would she have done for the last act of the story? Rinea joins The Deliverance and fights her (now ex) fiancee and beyond.Note: The Character Death tag refers to characters who die in the actual game Echoes
Relationships: Alm & Rinea (Fire Emblem), Anthiese | Celica & Rinea, Berkut & Rinea (Fire Emblem), Lukas & Rinea (Fire Emblem), Rinea (Fire Emblem) & Clair, Tatiana & Rinea (Fire Emblem), Teeta | Tatiana/Zeke
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	Rinea's Redemption

**Author's Note:**

> I unlocked Rinea in Heroes before playing Echoes, and instantly fell in love with her. When I started Echoes, and she was introduced as an enemy's fiancee, I mentally constructed this whole narrative about her leaving Berkut to join the side of the heroes, and I was so excited for it to play out. Because she was in Heroes I convinced myself she was a party member. So yeah... I was really bummed when she died. So here it is! My change.

Rinea could hear the war from the castle, even from Berkut's room deep in the keep. Spells casting, arrows flying, explosions going off. The sounds were all encompassing. She ran to the other window, to catch a glimpse of what she could. Rinea wanted to turn away, but she couldn't. She saw the young upstart Deliverance leader… Alm, that was his name. She saw him standing over Rudolf, lying on the ground wounded.

This is not what grabbed her attention though. It was two women.

One was a beautiful sorceress, with flowing green hair and a smile on her face. What fascinated Rinea was who she was with. The green haired girl hung closely to a tall blonde man, one Rinea vaguely recognized. He defended her, and she defended him. She was his equal partner on the battlefield, and Rinea could see the love between them.

The other was a woman Rinea had met a handful of occasions at high society events: Clair. Clair had always been so elegant, so beautiful on the dance floor, it seemed strange to see her flying through the skies, cutting down Rigelian soldiers left and right.

Rinea had never been in a fight, never so much as slapped someone. That was far below her. She had studied some magic, but nothing spectacular. But now she wondered what it would be like, to be in their shoes. And wondered why she wasn't.

She knew the answer, Berkut would never let her. He was too protective of her to risk anything happening to her.

Where was Berkut anyway? She had not seen him since the battle started. She wandered down to the main hall of the castle. The battle had ended by now, with the Deliverance winning. The Alm boy seemed wrapped up in a conversation with some generals, and no one seemed to notice Rinea as she moved through the building.

She heard him shouting down in the basement. Ranting and raving. He must be upset, with the loss of Rudolf, but surely he could keep himself together.

\---

Rinea descended into Duma's Lair. She had never been here, someone had always forbade her from entering. She had been endlessly curious, however.

Eventually, she found her way to an altar, with Berkut pacing in front of it. He was still screaming and shouting, ranting about how embarrassed he was, how much he hated Alm. He got quiet suddenly, and seemed to talk to no one.

"Lord Berkut!" Rinea called from the staircase. Something was wrong, and she had to intervene.

"Rinea?" He replied, becoming semi lucid again.

"I've been looking all over for you. This is the last place I would have expected to find you. You always hated the Faithful, after all." This was the truth, if Rinea hadn't heard his voice, she never would've come down here. He was so far into the catacombs too, how did she even hear him?

"This is true… but then I had the throne snatched from under me by some magical heir. Plying the gods' mercies is what men do in hopeless situations, is it not?" He was getting riled up again, Rinea didn't like hearing this from him.

"I didn't mean… forgive me, I shouldn't have said anything." Rinea never felt like she knew how to calm Berkut. She loved him so much, she knew how kind he could be. But this was scaring her. Berkut only exhaled, clearly still not himself. “Please don’t despair so. Alm seems a kind and generous man. I’m sure he’ll treat you fair.”

Berkut exploded in motion, pacing back and forth again. Rinea could see Alm’s name set him off. She regretted bringing him up.

“And I’m to be content with that?!” Berkut yelled back at her. Rinea gasped in fright. “I wanted to **beat** him Rinea! To dispatch him and claim the throne! I wanted to make you my empress and hold all of Valentia in our palms together! But what of those dreams now? Even Rigel alone is now forever beyond my grasp. So I’m to live in this Alm’s shadow? Throw myself upon his mercy? I would sooner an honorable death at the executioner’s blade!”

This was not the man she loved! The man who was so kind to her when they first met, with whom she danced alone with, who treated her as his equal no matter what. She looked into his eyes, and could not see that man anywhere.

“Berkut! You mustn’t say such things. I never… the truth is, I never wanted to be empress.” Berkut gasped at this, shocked by something Rinea assumed he always knew. “To stand at your side is all I’ve ever desired. I don’t care if you’re the emperor or a swineherd as long as we…” He wasn’t listening to her. He started to laugh… laugh? Rinea had never been so honest, so forthright with anyone in her life. She meant what she said, with her whole heart. And he laughed at her? Who was this?

“You too Rinea? Were you laughing along with them? Rudolf, Massena, and all the rest? Watching me toil away while you knew I would never become emperor! Was every kind word part of the act? Every smile, an act of **pity?!”**

“Berkut! You’re frightening me!”

“Duma! O ancient god! I call out to you now!” Was Berkut praying? But why to Duma, and why like this? She had never heard him pray before, and he was scaring her. Rinea started to back away, in fear of the man she once loved. “Grant me the power to set this land to ruin for good and all! Take of me what price you will! I care not anymore!”

Berkut lunged at Rinea, sword in hand. Rinea tripped backward, just narrowly avoiding the blade. Rinea wanted to cry, but she couldn’t. Not yet. If she was going to survive the hands of her love, she had to run, now. She stepped out of her heels and ran out, her shawl falling off as she ran. Berkut began to cackle, failing to kill Rinea, he did not pursue her.

\---

Rinea ran for a while, longer than she ever had in her life (which was not long, but it still tired her). The tunnels, which once felt like a direct path to her love, now were winding, and confusing, and never ending. After what felt like an hour, she ran headfirst into a warm body. She looked up to see Alm and his friends surrounding her.

“I am terribly sorry! I… I don’t… please…” Rinea babbled words of fright. She was engaged to Alm’s sworn enemy, surely she traded one threat for another.

“Miss, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” Alm’s voice was calm and reassuring. Rinea tried to stand, but her legs gave out, and tears streamed down.

“Rinea? Is that you?” Clair’s voice cut through the crowd. Mathilda and Clive stood with her too. None of them she knew very well, but at least they were familiar faces. Clair moved to Rinea’s side.

“Clair, do you know her?”

“Of course I do! Rinea was a debutante of the highest order! Never has one danced as gracefully or beautifully as she! Except myself, if I may be so pompous. Praytell, what are you doing in a place as disgusting as this?” Clair got down on Rinea’s level. Alm’s party stopped in front of her, and moved to encircle her. Not in a threatening way, but to reassure her.

“I came down here to find my love, Berkut. But when I found him, he was praying to Duma, and tried to offer me as a sacrifice! I thought I loved this man, but now… I do not know him.”

“If you’ll come with me, maybe we could save him.” Alm offered his hand to Rinea, and she took it. Alm pulled Rinea up, this time she was able to stand.

“Save him?”

“I just learned… well I discovered that I am King Rudolf’s son. Which makes Berkut my cousin. I have a lot of questions I couldn’t ask my father, but I can only hope that Berkut can answer them for me. If he is as troubled as you say, I would like to save him, and I would like your help to do it.” Alm’s eyes were as determined as his words. Rinea knew she could trust him.

“Of course. Anything to save the man I love.”

“Happy to have you on the team, Lady Rinea.” Alm bowed, politely, to show respect for her title.

Rinea laughed.

“If you are truly the prince, then it is I who should be bowing to you.”

“We’ll call it even, okay? Just lead the way.”

\---

While Rinea walked, slowly, the beautiful green haired girl made her way up to Rinea.

“How are you feeling?” The girl asked.

“I… I do not know how to feel.” Rinea replied, somewhat blankly.

“I can empathize with you. My beloved Zeke was taken from me by those same dark forces. I feared he would never return to me. But after Alm saved me, I was able to save him.”

“Is that so? I hope I can have the same luck.”

“War… it does terrible things to people. Zeke killed those he didn’t want to, and stole from those that did not deserve it. It weighs on him every night. But it’s his actions, when he’s with me… they let me know he’s still the man I fell in love with. Just keep faith in the Goddess.”

The green haired girl smiled at her, a smile Rinea could not deny was reassuring. “My name is Tatiana, I’m so glad I could meet you Rinea.”

“I am glad too, Tatiana. Truth be told I am envious of your fighting abilities, I saw you in the last battle.”

“That? That was all Zeke. I just keep everyone alive. I can train you though, if you want!”

“That would be lovely.”

\---

When Alm’s party arrived at the altar, Rinea feared it was already too late. Berkut was nowhere to be seen. In his place though, was a raging fire… though the fire began to take a human shape. Oh gods, was that…?

“You kept me waiting Alm, or should I say… Your Excellency? Perhaps Emperor Rudolf II of Rigel?” The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, twisted through the heat and demonic energy, but Rinea could recognize his voice anywhere: the man on fire was Berkut. He was gone, completely.

“Berkut? Is that you? Please listen-” Alm tried to call out, but a wave of fire burst, pushing back everyone in the crowd.

“Never! You took **everything** from me! I was meant to be Emperor!”

“Please Berkut! You’re my cousin, you’re my only family. Please, this does not have to be how it ends.”

“Family? I care not of family! Family betrays you, just as your father did! I care only for power, and this form, this power, is what Duma has granted me!”

“Lord Berkut, please! Come back to me! I love you.” Rinea couldn’t live with herself if she did not give one last try to sway him.

“My pitiful fiance, unable to fulfill my simplest request: your love is not returned.”

Terrors rose from the flames behind Berkut’s fiery form, launching themselves at Alm, Rinea, and his party. Rinea watched as they divided and conquered the beasts. Clair rode her pegasus into battle, swerving through the air. Tatiana got on Zeke’s horse, and fired spells as he charged. Still more Rinea did not know fired spells and arrows all around. One girl refused to let a single Terror come anywhere near Alm, though Alm seemed to barely notice this fact.

This time, Rinea noticed a priestess, with similar hair to her own, healing everyone around her. Rinea wondered if she would be able to do that. She saw a man in heavy red armor and equally red hair go down, a scythe going right through his armor. Rinea rushed over to him.

“Are you hurt?”

“I… I’m fine.” The man grunted out. He stumbled back, clearly not. Rinea leaned down, and put her hands over his wound. She thought back to the schooling she had, and focused on healing the wound. White light poured from her hands, accessing a strength she hadn’t seen in a long time. The creature with the scythe hung around, and was about to go for Rinea now. She kept one hand on the man, but raised the other, out of instinct. The light shot out this time, obliterating the creature. Rinea turned her attention back to the wound, to see it completely gone.

“I thank you, milady.” The man told her, very matter of factly. He stood up, as did Rinea, who saw Alm squaring off with Berkut. Rinea hurried over.

Alm charged at Berkut, and while he was able to get a hit in, Berkut launched him backwards with his lance. Alm fell, sliding across the ground, dropping his sword. No one else was nearby, and she could see the fires from the pit feeding Berkut’s flame-ridden form. He was healing, and he was going to harm those that cared for her.

Rinea picked up Alm’s sword, and marched towards Berkut, who was cackling with glee. He stopped, cognizant enough of the fact that it was Rinea to pause for just a moment.

"You dare defy me? You should be dead!"

"It pains me that you already are, Berkut."

Rinea thrusted the sword forward, devoid of any technique or logic, but she hit Berkut's fiery form with the pointy end all the same. She kept pushing until he was completely run through, and they now stood directly next to each other, looking over each other's shoulders, not quite sure who would survive. To Rinea's surprise, the flames were not harming her. Berkut gasped for air, and his flames began to dissipate. He crumpled to the ground, and Rinea fell backwards as well, overwhelmed by her act.

"Ri… Rinea? Is that you?" Berkut's body began to poke through the flames as they disappeared. He had been under them the whole time.

"It is I, Lord Berkut."

"I'm… I am so sorry… you did not… deserve…"

"I never deserved you, Berkut. If I was merely a status symbol, if you did not love me through the ill times, you did not love me at all. You have revealed yourself to me in your final moments." Rinea didn't quite know where these words came from. She had never said anything so defiant in her life. But she also had nothing to fall back on. Her kingdom toppled and her fiance dying, she would never have her old life back. It was freeing.

\---

Hours later, the entire party waited as Alm searched for the Falchion. They took turns standing watch for Terrors, but everyone took a moment to rest and recover. Rinea was still taking in the events of the day, shocked that any of it happened, and accepting that she came so close to death. The food they had was worse than anything Rinea ever had, but she was too hungry to be judgemental. As she tried to attack some dry bread, the red haired man from earlier approached her.

"I was never able to properly thank you for before." He gave what Rinea assumed was a smile, but he seemed too stoic to truly play his cards.

"There is no need, but I appreciate it all the same."

"I am a noble as well, my name is Lukas. I am amazed by your ability to stand up to Berkut, I believe it is the responsibility of us all to not take our nobility for granted."

"Thank you. Truth be told, I do not know what came over me.”

“I think we all discover our true selves when confronted by tragedy such as those. You just found yours today.”

Rinea smiled, for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Maybe she had actually found her people here. Before Rinea could respond, Tatiana approached and tapped Lukas’ shoulder.

“Hey you, your turn on patrol. Let me have some time with Rinea!”

“Very well.” He turned straight to Rinea, and touched her shoulder. “We can continue our conversation later, if you wish.” He then bowed and headed out. Rinea felt heat rising in her cheeks, but made sure not to let Tatiana see.

“I’m really sorry about Berkut. I had really hoped you would turn out like me and Zeke.”

“It is okay. Berkut is no Zeke, I can see that now.”

“I like that spirit. Want to learn some spells?” Tatiana gave Rinea a smile, one that felt promising.

“I would love nothing more.”

\---

After Alm returned with Falchion and Celica, they made their way to the final gate, to face off against Duma. The room was acidic and hot, any move in any direction made Rinea fear the worst for herself. Duma roared insults, ready to kill every last one of them, and threatening their very right to challenge him. She heard her fast friends all yell out retorts right back.

"This is my world, and Zeke's as well. I won't allow you to endanger it!" Tatiana replied, fiery and passionate. Rinea only felt envy. She wished she had someone to care about that much. Lukas took a much more subdued mentality, however.

"A battle between god and mortal? Sounds exhilarating to me." Was all he said. She wasn't surprised he was as stoic as she assumed. Finally, Clair showed her true colors as well. 

"This business of relying on gods and... so forth all seems quite absurd to me. The creepy man will excuse himself now!"

Rinea envied them all. They all had convictions, they all had reasons to fight Duma. She was just here because Alm had saved her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Celica's.

"I know we only just met. If you don't want to fight, I completely understand. This is my war, and Alm's."

"No, I do. I am just trying to find what I'm fighting for."

"The fact that you don't know… isn't that just it?" Celica asked. Rinea must have made quite the face, because Celica quickly tried to explain herself. "I lived with Grandpa most of my life, living in fear of some day that someone would try and hurt me. We ended up moving constantly, never settling down. Truth be told, I never had much say in anything, besides my friendship with Alm. From what I understand, you aren't too different. The fact that you finally get to choose for yourself… isn't that the choice?"

Rinea absorbed Celica’s words for a moment. It’s true, she never really knew what she wanted. Her whole life, her goal was to enjoy herself, get married, then have kids. She never actually wanted anything for herself, everything was in service of an imaginary man, who eventually became Berkut. Rinea turned towards the god Duma.

“You have taken everything from me! My love, my life, all of it! It’s time to take something back from you. You shall not rule over us another day!”

Celica smiled at Rinea’s words, and squeezed her shoulder, gently.

“I’m glad you’re on our side, Rinea.”

“I am too.”

\---

Rinea focused mostly on support, healing whoever she had to, even using her magic to give more energy when they looked fatigued. She found dancing while casting the spell was oddly effective in granting stamina. While Alm and Celica focused on Duma, Rinea eventually squared off with two witches, clearly cursed by Jedah or someone else. A woman with long purple hair, whom she found out was named Sonya, seemed especially invested in this fight. Zeke and Tatiana were leading the charge on the fight, while Rinea and Sonya cast spells from the back line. Eventually, one of the witches fired a spell above Rinea. Although she dodged, rocks came tumbling down. Rinea, already on the ground, was unable to move, though right as the rocks were to hit her, she felt a shield and suit of armor get in the way. She looked up to see Lukas smiling at her.

“Tha- thank you so much.” was all Rinea could say.

“It felt only right to return the favor.” Lukas told her, matter of factly, as always.

“I promise, there was no need.”

“That’s what a team does, Lady Rinea. They support each other.”

He offered his hand, and helped her up after the rocks cleared.

“Shall we finish off my sisters, once and for all?” Sonya called out. That explains her investment.

“They must be freed… just like Lord Berkut. It’s only right.” Rinea answered, confidently.

“Well then, Tatiana, cast a spell, I shall follow up.” Zeke offered.

“Right away, my love!”

Tatiana fired a bright light, and Rinea decided to answer in kind. Zeke and Lukas went in for strikes, and Sonya brought on a big force, dealing the final blow. She walked up to her sisters.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you two… I guess some things are past that point. But at least you get to rest now.”

Rinea began crying, she didn’t even know when it started. She knew that, at some point, Berkut would have been able to have been saved. Could she have done something differently? She guessed it didn’t matter anymore. She had saved herself, and that’s all she could really do at this point. She was glad she had joined Alm and Celica, and found her own place in the world. As Alm and Celica struck down Duma once and for all, Rinea realized how excited she was to see how that world turned out.

\---

After renouncing her title, Rinea left her home and moved to Lukas’ school, to help teach the next generation and help them grow. While scholars debate on the identity of who she married, it is known that her child grew to become a leader in the One Kingdom, inspired by her mother’s bravery and heart.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to craft parallels between Alm/Celica, Rinea/Berkut, and Tatiana/Zeke, I hope I succeeded, especially with Rinea stabbing Berkut being a parallel to Alm stabbing Celica. I just felt like Rinea and Berkut were dark mirrors to Celica and Alm, and I wanted to lean into that.


End file.
